The applicant should be competent in of how to operate a handgun, familiar with the basic rules of gun safety and hold a fundamental understanding of the laws of "deadly force" as well as how they may differ from state to state.

What " basic right" needs a competency requirement?...

Putting aside the question of whether this ought to be a governmental requirement, in my view the responsible gun owner who intends to carry a loaded gun in public will undertake on his own initiative to "...be competent in of how to operate a handgun, familiar with the basic rules of gun safety and hold a fundamental understanding of the laws of "deadly force" as well as how they may differ from state to state...." It may be his right to carry a gun without doing so, at least in some States; but if he makes that choice, I'm sure not going to congratulate him for it.

__________________
"It is long been a principle of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully." -- Jeff Cooper

If you guys want the federal government to grant nationwide reciprocity, expect competency requirements. Expect them to be pretty expensive and difficult as well.

Like it or not, there is no "right to carry" in the eyes of the government. It's a restricted privilege until the courts say otherwise. I know folks are thinking "it's mah riiiight! It ain't up to the courts!"

But it is up to the courts. That's not how it's supposed to be, but that's where we are right now.

__________________
Sometimes it’s nice not to destroy the world for a change.
--Randall Munroe

The idea that a "license" is required to exercise a clearly defined Constitutional right is the most ridiculous concept I have ever heard. Should the Govt. require you to purchase a license from them to exercise free speech...

Actually, it's well established that government may require permits of licenses to exercise a number of rights protected by the First Amendment, e. g., permit requirements for public assembly. It's settled law that constitutionally protected rights are subject to limited regulation.

__________________
"It is long been a principle of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully." -- Jeff Cooper

There is actually a National concealed weapons permit. It's called H.R. 218, Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004. Covers all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Retired officers must qualify annually with the State requirement or the standard used by the Agency that qualifies them with the TYPE of handgun they carry. I do my annuals next week with a Sig P226 9mm & a S&W Mod. 10 38 spl.

So your job gives people a reason to hate you? Lots of peoples jobs do that. Lots of people have enemies who would wish to cause them harm. Unless Im mising the angle of the argument point here thats null and void as far as I'm concerned.

Again, I'm glad for what officers do..I just dont believe they're entitled to special treatment. We're all american citizens here.. your occupation or former occupation should carry no weight.

__________________"...with liberty and justice for all." (Must be 21. Void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply. Not available in all states.)

Special treatment happens to classes of people all the time. Go to the nearest military base & try to gain admittance to buy commodities at the exchange, px or commissary at the prices active & retired do w/o paying sales tax. Retired military pays zip for medical care once eligible for S/S. Have a friend that's a retired reservist that had a 5 bypass and chemo for Cancer for 2 years with NO out of pocket expense all because he's being treated differently than those that aren't retired military.

There is actually a National concealed weapons permit. It's called H.R. 218, Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004. Covers all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Retired officers must qualify annually with the State requirement or the standard used by the Agency that qualifies them with the TYPE of handgun they carry. I do my annuals next week with a Sig P226 9mm & a S&W Mod. 10 38 spl.

No. That's LEOSA, not a "National concealed weapons permit."

Quote:

Originally Posted by hhb

How many people have you met in public that you sent to prison?

As a (traffic court) prosecutor, I do send a few folks a week to jail. My buddies over in the local Prosecuting Attorney's office send bunches of folks to prison, and most of those attorneys carry regularly. None of them will be "qualified law enforcement officers" because they lack statutory arrest authority.

__________________
I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some.

The idea that a "license" is required to exercise a clearly defined Constitutional right is the most ridiculous concept I have ever heard. Should the Govt. require you to purchase a license from them to exercise free speech or to attend the church of your choice?

An oft stated sentiment.

And there's no CCW until you have a license, or until a State passes a separate law saying you don't need one.

States have rights, also, and can clearly enact laws pertaining to firearms.

What isn't clearly defined, are the amount of restrictions that can be placed on the citizenry. Scalia said in a recent interview that he'll have to "see what happens" with respect to how he'd come down on the matter should it go before the Court.

What we'd better worry about is who's going to be appointing Justices for the next four years, since the rulings by some are not in doubt.

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